(see Photo Gallery below)
The Assiniboine River Archery Club’s annual 3-D shoot during the weekend continues to attract participants from across the province, as well as a few from Alberta and Manitoba.
The weather was great for both days of the shoot, but it was the weather that can be blamed for a smaller turnout than what was expected, said Kevin Ludba, club president. Poor weather during the week likely caused a few of the regular archers to decide against participating this year. This is especially true for a number of archers that come from greater distances. The threat of rain and cool conditions likely caused a number of the regulars to stay away.
On Saturday, 125 archers were registered and on Sunday, there were about 150 participants, he said. Another reason for the numbers to be lower than expected was that there were so many other events taking place during the weekend.
The club held its first 3-D shoot in 1992 and over the years a loyal following developed, Ludba said. Avid archers love the course which is located on Dale and Chad Swetlishnoff’s land northeast of Canora. It was the late John Swetlishnoff who first made the land available to the archery club. The landscape allows for numerous variations of the courses each year, producing a challenge for new archers and for experienced archers.
When the courses are set up each year, the goal is to give participants scenarios that are experienced by hunters every year, said Jeff Bisschop, the club’s vice-president. Because of the landscape that includes hills, sand dunes, forests and open prairie, participants are challenged by the terrain, such as shooting down hills.
It takes a lot of work to set up the course each year, but the club has so many dedicated members who gladly volunteer, said Ludba. Club members begin setting up the course during the August long weekend. This year about 30 members volunteered to set up the course. Archery is a growing sport with more participants every year, he said. The club’s priority is the young archers, but there is also the competitive aspect which attracts seasoned archers. In the club’s early years, programs such as the Junior Olympic Program (JOP) introduced youths to the sport with the Saskatchewan Archery Association. A more recent development is the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP). Youngsters receive the opportunity to learn the sport through the schools. Learning to shoot with a bow is a strong confidence builder which carries over to all aspects of life.
Learning new skills and developing character through volunteering are wonderful incentives to promote the sport, Ludba said. This aspect of the archery program has been a foundation for the club’s mission statement. Each year, the club offers two special awards based on this objective. The Travis Sleeva Memorial Award and the Colleen Tiechko Memorial Award are presented to young members who display passion for the sport, who demonstrate dedication, who exercise good sportsmanship, and those who take on responsibilities and volunteer to work for the club.
The Sleeva Memorial Award is presented in March as the indoor shooting season concludes. Michael Owchar was this year’s recipient. The Tiechko Memorial Award is presented each year at the 3-D shoot. Emily Owchar was this year’s recipient.
The annual 3-D shoot has become a major social event, Ludba said. Many people come out during the weekend just to walk the course and visit at the beer gardens. The outdoor kitchen is always busy. The Saturday night entertainment always attracts quite a large crowd.
More than 100 people took in the party atmosphere as the band SevenLevels began performing at 8 p.m. and kept going into the wee hours of the morning, Ludba said.
The annual shoot continues to benefit from a growing list of sponsors, Bisschop said. The shoot is a well-known event in the area, but there are also sponsors from Regina and Saskatoon.
Archery awards
Participants can enter in a wide range of categories, giving everyone an opportunity to win – whether the participant is new to the sport or an old master. Awards were handed out for each of the two courses based on individual and aggregate scores.
Master 50Male
Winning the Master 50Male category was Al Bohn who had scores of 360 on Saturday and 382 for Sunday. His grand total was 742 points. Stan Grzech came in second with totals of 349 on Saturday and 344 on Sunday for a grand total of 693. Dale Hintz placed third with a score of 305 on Saturday and 323 on Sunday for a grand total of 628.
Master 50Female
Deb Wagner was the only shooter in the Master 50Female category. She shot only on Sunday when she recorded a total of 291 points.
Bow Hunter Release Male
Cory Sawchuk won the Bow Hunter Release Male category with a grand total of 684 points. His total on Saturday was 361 and his Sunday total was 323 points. Zachary Messner placed second with a Saturday total of 318 and a Sunday total of 309 for a grand total of 627.
Jessie Sawchuk placed third with totals of 292 and 306 for a grand total of 598 points.
Bow Hunter Open – Male
Clayton Yaganski won the Bow Hunter Open – Male category with a grand total of 670 points. His Saturday total was 324 points and his Sunday total was 345 points.
Dusty Peterson placed second with totals of 327 on Saturday and 328 on Sunday for a grand total of 655. Ryan Zuchkan placed third with totals of 308 on Saturday and 325 on Sunday for a grand total of 633 points.
Bow Hunter Open – Female
Teagan Homeniuk won the Bow Hunter Open – Female category with totals of 279 on Saturday, 276 on Sunday and a grand total of 555. Megan Homeniuk placed second with totals of 210 on Saturday, 240 on Sunday and a grand total of 450. Shelley Barabash placed third but she shot only on Sunday when her total was 331 points.
Junior Compound – Male
Andrew Witwicki won the Junior Compound – Male category with totals of 311 on Saturday and 337 on Sunday for a grand total of 648 points. Austin Swiderski placed second with totals of 208 on Satuday and 251 on Sunday for a grand total of 459 points.
Noah Tonn placed third with a total of 366 points. He did not shoot on Saturday.
Master Compound 60 – Male
Demetry Procyk won the Master Compound 60 –Male category with totals of 390 on Saturday and 351 on Sunday for a grand total of 775 points. Bill Karapita placed second. He shot only on Sunday when he recorded a total of 351 points.
Doug Botterill placed third. Shooting only on Saturday, his total was 323 points.
Cadet Compound – Male
Orrie Babichuk won the Cadet Compound – Male category with totals of 309 on Saturday and 313 on Sunday for a grand total of 622 points.
Dawson Sawchuk placed second with totals of 300 on Saturday and 279 on Sunday for a grand total of 579 points. Darian Vandermeulen placed third. Shooting only on Saturday his total of 303 points.
Cadet Compound – Female
Brookelyn Tratch won the Cadet Compound – Female category with totals of 298 on Saturday and 153 on Sunday for a grand total of 451. She did not shoot on Course B on Sunday.
Britney Skolney placed second with a total of 225. She did not shoot on Saturday.
Hunter – Male
Oscar Knudsen won the Hunter – Male category with totals of 339 on Saturday and 351 on Sunday. The grand total was 690 points. Dean Bocking placed second with totals of 335 on Saturday and 354 on Sunday for a grand total of 689 points. Mike Owchar placed third with totals of 321 on Saturday and 313 on Sunday for a grand total of 634 points.
Hunter – Female
Jeanne Kiraly won the Hunter – Female category with totals of 281 on Saturday and 260 on Sunday for a grand total of 541 points. Belinda Bocking placed second with totals of 259 on Saturday and 257 on Sunday for a grand total of 516 points.
Jessica Szeles placed third with totals of 258 on Saturday and 254 on Sunday for a grand total of 512 points.
Hunter Fingers
George Kiraly won the Hunter Fingers category with totals of 255 on Saturday and 263 on Sunday for a grand total of 518 points. Doug Brook placed second with a total of 277 points. He did not shoot on Saturday.
Garth Erbach placed third with a total of 239 points. He did not shoot on Saturday.
Cub Compound – Male
Riley Kowalyshyn won the Cub Compound – Male category with totals of 253 on Saturday and 291 on Sunday for a grand total of 544 points, Gavin Swiderski placed second with totals of 237 on Saturday and 290 on Sunday for a grand total of 527 points.
Liam Desrosiers placed third with totals of 183 on Saturday and 93 on Sunday for a grand total of 276. He did not shoot on Course B on Sunday.
Cub Compound – Female
Larissa Makowsky won the Cub Compound – Female category with totals of 368 on Saturday and 376 on Sunday for a grand total of 744 points. Ashley Stusek placed second with totals of 216 on Saturday and 276 on Sunday for a grand total of 492 points.
Georgia Edwards placed third with a total of 330. She did not shoot on Saturday.
Recurve Unaided – Male
Vince Bailey won the Recurve Unaided – Male category with totals of 251 on Saturday and 258 on Sunday for a grand total of 519 points. Ross Tressel placed second with a total of 223 points. He did not shoot on Saturday.
Darcy Rewakowsky placed third with a total of 38 on Saturday and 80 on Sunday. He only shot on course each day.
Recurve Unaided – Female
Roberta Rohr was the only person shooting in the Recurve Unaided – Female category. She shot only on Course B on Sunday when she recorded a score of 60 points.
PreCub Compound – Male
Jacob Gulka won the PreCub Compound – Male category with totals of 299 on Saturday and 302 on Sunday for a grand total of 601 points. Skylar Ryczak placed second with totals of 250 on Saturday and 299 on Sunday for a grand total of 549 points.
Brendan Babichuk placed third with totals of 267 on Saturday and 265 on Sunday for a total of 532 points.
PreCub Compound – Female
Emily Owchar won the PreCub Compound – Female category with totals of 297 on Saturday and 271 on Sunday for a grand total of 568 points. Annabelle Jain placed second with totals of 193 on Saturday and 283 on Sunday for a grand total of 476 points.
Bella Mykytyshyn placed third with totals of 174 on Saturday and 198 on Sunday for a grand total of 372 points.
Peewee – Male
Michael Owchar won the Peewee – Male category with totals of 364 on Saturday and 380 on Sunday for a grand total of 744 points. Matthew Makowsky placed second with totals of 362 on Saturday and 358 on Sunday for a grand total of 720 points.
Taye Shukin placed third with totals of 292 on Saturday and 324 on Sunday for a grand total of 616 points.
Peewee – Female
Cierra Bocking won the Peewee – Female category with totals of 141 on Saturday and 168 on Sunday for a grand total of 309 points. Nikala Edwards placed second with a total of 190 points. She did not shoot on Saturday.
Cairwyn Bailey placed third with a total of 30 points. She shot only on Course B on Sunday.
